Scientists are exploring indium tin oxide (ITO) as an electrode material to address the size and high-temperature issues of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)-based electrochemical sensors. They tested a thin film multilayer YSZ oxygen sensor, configured with Cu-Cu2O as the reference electrode and ITO as the working electrode on a SrTiO3 substrate.
The sensor detected oxygen levels from 10 to 824 ppm at temperatures as low as 623 K, without baseline drifts. Using Dynamic Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (D-SIMS), researchers studied ion diffusion between ITO and YSZ, finding significant concentration changes within a 20 nm depth for indium and tin ions. The sharp interface between ITO and YSZ, even after high-temperature deposition, showed a high exchange current density, which decreased significantly with temperature. D-SIMS's high depth resolution and sensitivity were crucial in analyzing these interfaces, providing insights to optimize sensor materials.
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D-SIMS Analysis of Electrochemical Sensors
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